Proms and underage drinking

Prom season is right around the corner. Teenagers all over San Diego County are picking out tuxedos and dresses, deciding which boutonniere or corsage they’ll give to their date and choosing a limo service.

Many teens are also trying to figure out how they’re going to get alcohol. Some will beg their parents. Others will ask an older sibling or friend to buy booze for them. Tragically, they will succeed. Every year during prom season teenagers engage in binge drinking that results in alcohol poisoning, risky sexual behavior and deadly alcohol-related car accidents. Here are some considerations for parents to keep in mind before sending their children off into the night for high school’s most glamorous event:

“It’s tragic, but prom season can be a very busy time of the year,” says Lt. Craig Carter of the Escondido Police Department. “We would love this to be the year that we don’t have to respond to any DUI incidents involving minors. We would like to have parents take more precautions to protect their kids.”

According to the Escondido Police Department, there were 293 incidents in 2008 involving minors in possession of alcohol, being drunk in public or driving under the influence of alcohol. The department’s statistics show that by far the most dangerous months for underage abuse of alcohol are May and October. In May 2008, there were 33 minors cited or arrested for alcohol-related crimes in Escondido. There were 34 in October. The incidents in those two months compose 22 percent of that year’s total. This should tell parents that prom is not something to take lightly.

Barbara Gauthier is the director of intervention for the Escondido Union High School District. She had this advice for parents: “Know who your child is going to prom with. Other parents might not have the same concerns as you about alcohol, hotel rooms and curfews. Talk with the other parents and set common expectations and rules.”

“Every parent wants to be loved and respected by their kids,” said Michele Henry, president-elect of the Escondido Council PTA. “But some parents want to be their child’s friend rather than a responsible parent – this can lead to a teen’s reckless behavior.”

Some parents feel that a good compromise is to let their children drink with their friends in their home after prom. “This is a common misconception,” said Lt. Carter. “Not only is it illegal under the Social Host Ordinance and punishable with a $1,000 fine and up to six months in jail, but it’s physically impossible to keep track of what everyone is doing in your home.”

Henry added: “Those parents think that if they can control the environment in which their child will drink, they can stop anything before it gets out of hand. Parents may not realize that providing alcohol even one time can lead to drinking outside the home or drinking when the parent isn’t present. It becomes an acceptable behavior because the parent has condoned it.”

Some limousine companies, including at least one in Escondido, enforce a no-alcohol policy with underage passengers and accept itineraries from parents that drivers will not deviate from.

Others are not as strict as they attempt to capitalize on demand around prom time.

Teenagers riding in limousines and party busses tend to engage in binge drinking. Binge drinking means consuming five or more drinks in two hours. Statistics from the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth confirm suspicions that underage and binge drinking are extraordinarily dangerous. The center estimates that “teenage girls who binge drink are up to 63 percent more likely to become teen mothers” and at “individuals under the age of 21 commit 45 percent of rapes” and that “50 percent of violent crime is alcohol-related.” The center also notes “Young people are aware that using alcohol influences their decisions about sexual behavior: 29 percent of 15- to 17-year-olds and 37 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds said that alcohol or drugs influenced their decision to do something sexual.”

If parents want more information, Gauthier recommends that they talk to their children’s school counselors. Parents can also visit www.live2graduate.com for prevention tips and advice. For more statistics and fact sheets visit www.camy.org.

Keating is a media specialist with the North Inland Community Prevention Program in Poway.